Mountain Leader Award

The Mountain Leader Award is a nationally accredited scheme from Mountain Training designed to train and assess those who want to lead groups on mountains throughout Britain in summer conditions. The award has two parts: training and assessment, with a consolidation period between the two.

Prerequisites

To get started on the Mountain Leader qualification you need to meet the following prerequisites:

You must be at least 18 years old
You should have at least a year’s worth of experience of mountain walking
You should have an interest in leading groups in the mountains
You must be a member of a mountaineering council: BMC, Mountaineering Scotland or Mountaineering Ireland (you can join one when you register if you're not already a member)

The Syllabus

The Mountain Leader Award training covers the following subjects:

Group management
Navigation
Access and the environment
Hazards (including steep ground and rivers) and emergency procedures
Equipment
Expedition skills
Weather
Background knowledge

The full syllabus and Scheme Handbook can be viewed on the Mountain Training website here

Training courses take place over 6 days, and offer candidates suitable terrain within the scope of the award, with plenty of learning opportunities along the way. Our assessment courses run over 5 days.

How do I join?

First of all, you must be a member of a mountaineering council to enter the Mountain Leader Scheme, so that will be either the BMC, Mountaineering Scotland, or Mountaineering Ireland. You can join one of these during the registration process with Mountain Training.

You must then register for this award with Mountain Training before you can take part in the training course. Registration costs £65 – payable to Mountain Training upon registering. This gives you access to the superb DLOG online logbook, and a copy of the British Mountaineering Council’s ‘Safety on Mountains’ booklet. You must then personally undertake and log an absolute minimum of 20 varied walks in mountain terrain, which you'll soon get to know as 'Quality Mountain Days'. You will then be eligible to attend the Mountain Leader Award training course.

After attending the Mountain Leader award training course, you then need to undertake a consolidation period (you'll be advised about this during the debrief session at the end of your training course) and complete an appropriate First Aid course, before you can attend a Mountain Leader Award assessment course.

Mountain Leader Course Dates 2024

Our Mountain Leader courses are run mainly in the Mardale area of the Lake District, but we do also offer occasional courses in the Duddon Valley in the Lakes, and in the Southern Highlands of Scotland.

Places in Green mean the course is guaranteed to run, and have limited availability.

Places in Red mean the course needs more bookings to guarantee that it will run.

TRAINING COURSE DATES 2024

7-9 & 14-16 June in Mardale and Scotland (Tyndrum area). Split weekend. 5 places available.

10-15 August in Mardale. 5 places available.

17-22 September in Mardale. 12 places available.

11-16 November in Mardale. 6 places available.

ASSESSMENT COURSE DATES 2024

17-21 June in Mardale. 4 more places available - numbers increased!

17-18 & 23-25 Aug in Mardale and Scotland (Glenshee). Split weekend. 3 places available.

7-8 & 13-15 Sept in Mardale. Split weekend. 2 places available.

7-11 October in Mardale. Over 40s only! 3 more places available - numbers increased!

2-6 December in Mardale. 4 places available.

Course Fees

For 2024 our Training courses will be £450 and our Assessment courses will be £465 + registration with Mountain Training

This does NOT include the Mountain Training registration fee (see How do I join?, above).

These courses are not residential, but we send out details of accommodation in each area with your booking confirmation.

Booking

Booking is essential on all our courses. Contact us by email, through our contact form or call now on 07498 058912

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